Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Jiangmen and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Jiangmen: $513 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $8,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

25

Cost of Living Index in Jiangmen
Learn more

Jiangmen Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Jiangmen

🇨🇳 China

$513

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Jiangmen and in Playa del Carmen

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Jiangmen and in Playa del Carmen actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $513 in Jiangmen versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Jiangmen $513
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $998 in Jiangmen versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Jiangmen $998
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,483 in Jiangmen versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Jiangmen $1,483
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Jiangmen costs roughly 58% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Jiangmen 62% lower, Playa del Carmen 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.29 ¥21.97

$10.76 MX$199

-69.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.07 ¥201

$43.03 MX$795

-30.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.31 ¥35.49

$11.79 MX$218

-54.96%

Cappuccino

$2.30 ¥15.38

$3.87 MX$71.4

-40.57%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.43 ¥2.87

$1.37 MX$25.29

-68.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ¥2.08

$0.84 MX$15.44

-63.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.91 ¥6.09

$3.10 MX$57.3

-70.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.46 ¥9.79

$5.07 MX$93.6

-71.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.60 ¥10.71

$1.44 MX$26.55

11.11%

White Bread (500g)

$1.63 ¥10.89

$2.23 MX$41.23

-26.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.07 ¥7.12

$1.47 MX$27.17

-27.21%

Eggs

$1.77 ¥11.86

$2.53 MX$46.71

-30.04%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$21.48 ¥144

$7.30 MX$135

194.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.28 ¥15.27

$7.86 MX$145

-70.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.38 ¥89.5

$12.79 MX$236

4.61%

Apples (1kg)

$2.16 ¥14.47

$2.90 MX$53.6

-25.52%

Banana (1kg)

$0.89 ¥5.94

$1.44 MX$26.53

-38.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.17 ¥7.80

$2.55 MX$47.07

-54.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.43 ¥9.57

$2.06 MX$38.03

-30.58%

Potato (1kg)

$0.64 ¥4.28

$2.00 MX$36.97

-68.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.93 ¥6.25

$2.01 MX$37.07

-53.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.29 ¥1.93

$1.19 MX$22.02

-75.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ¥3.65

$1.26 MX$23.23

-56.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.06 ¥20.45

$4.40 MX$81.4

-30.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.19 ¥81.5

$9.59 MX$177

27.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.69 ¥4.63

$1.59 MX$29.41

-56.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.76 ¥11.74

$2.81 MX$51.9

-37.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.44 ¥2.93

$0.57 MX$10.47

-22.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.41 ¥9.41

$4.98 MX$92.1

-71.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.39 ¥2.60

$3.50 MX$64.6

-88.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.09 ¥47.43

$5.40 MX$99.8

31.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 ¥8.97

$1.47 MX$27.08

-8.84%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$19.8K ¥132.2K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

-5.77%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$16.5K ¥110.5K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

-30.86%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$49.45 ¥331

$84.2 MX$1,556

-41.28%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$8.60 ¥57.5

$23.99 MX$443

-64.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.27 ¥82.1

$29.02 MX$536

-57.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.28 ¥202

$63.0 MX$1,164

-51.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.51 ¥30.19

$29.14 MX$539

-84.52%

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ¥43.40

$4.94 MX$91.3

31.38%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$251 ¥1,676

$204 MX$3,763

23.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,533 ¥50.4K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

91.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$30.21 ¥202

$43.60 MX$806

-30.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.86 ¥266

$43.12 MX$797

-7.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.5 ¥485

$75.8 MX$1,400

-4.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$44.20 ¥296

$88.6 MX$1,637

-50.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$444 ¥2,968

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-74.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$273 ¥1,826

$1,106 MX$20.4K

-75.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,098 ¥40.8K

$3,944 MX$72.9K

54.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,223 ¥8,178

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-80.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$592 ¥3,957

$754 MX$13.9K

-21.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.35

11.45

-70.74%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Jiangmen: October 12, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Groceries & Markets

Jiangmen

$230 44.9%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 12.1% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Jiangmen

$84 16.4%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 34.5% $29

Eating Out

Jiangmen

$80 15.6%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 152% $122

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Jiangmen

$70 13.7%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 95.1% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Jiangmen

$43 8.4%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 68.4% $30

Getting Around

Jiangmen

$5.1 * 1%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 931% $47

Accommodation & Living

Jiangmen

- * 0%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Playa del Carmen pays 27% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $30.00 in Jiangmen vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $230 vs $258 per month, with Jiangmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Jiangmen

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

17:17 5:17 PM

04:17 4:17 AM

13 h behind Jiangmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,448,871

149,923

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Jiangmen Playa del Carmen 14,740 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Jiangmen
Playa del Carmen

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Jiangmen vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Jiangmen and Playa del Carmen differ by about 136% in total monthly costs ($513 vs $1,210 including rent). Jiangmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 27% lower in Playa del Carmen. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Childcare runs $251 in Jiangmen versus $204 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Jiangmen – a meal for two runs $30.00 versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $513 in Jiangmen versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Jiangmen but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Jiangmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Jiangmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 136% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.